Swarm
by S J Smith-Evil Little Dog
Summary: There's something horrible beneath Central City, and Edward and his companions are caught with it.


**Title: **Swarm

**Author:** S J Smith

**Rating:** Teen

**Summary: **The fight to reach Father just reached epic proportions.

**Disclaimer:** Arakawa absolutely owns all.

**Notes: ** This is an alternate reality of the final few chapters of _Fullmetal Alchemist._

**HAPPY HALLOWEEN!**

X X X

They'd rushed out of the doorway, pale, scrawny bodies seeming to pose no threat until they attacked, and then Edward realized, again, he could take nothing on face value beneath Central City. He fought, hands and feet flying, using his elbows and knees to get ahead. He'd used alchemy to stop them from getting into the city, to getting free to attacking the citizens. At least no one had said he was wrong, doing that.

But they hadn't counted on how fucking many of those one-eyed soldiers there were. They kept coming, like a swarm of ground wasps, pouring through the arched door. Edward beat one down, and another, and they kept _coming_. How were they going to get that fucking Father-guy if they couldn't get past these bastards?

There were just so many of them. Knock down one, it'd get back up. Stab it in its eye, it didn't stop. The soul-dolls bit and slapped and hit, and ran over the top of them. His friends kept getting back up, Jerzo and Zampano, Lion King and Donkey Kong, even Scar. They knocked the monsters off of each other, helped each other, stood back to back, but it wasn't enough. Those things were fast, and cold, and didn't feel anything. Edward heard someone shout they couldn't be killed; he thought Heinkel might be right. They didn't even stink like dead things, no brains or guts or blood to make the floor slick, they just came on, dismembered, eyeless, the perfect soldiers.

He used one of the dolls as a springboard, running up its scrawny body and kicking it so its head slammed into a wall. It oozed down the surface, but its eye turned toward him. Edward punched it hard, kicking off the wall to land in a swarm of them. He shoved his automail foot nearly down the throat of another, fighting to yank his boot free. Using that momentum, Edward flung himself into an arching backflip, trying to avoid another swirl of their arms and gaping mouths.

A scream jerked Edward around and he spotted Jerzo, going down under a pile of the monsters. Clapping his hands together, he risked touching the floor to activate a transmutation, though being this low made him an easy target. Still, he managed to sweep some of the creatures away from the chimera. A long-fingered hand grabbed at Edward's coat and he beat it off, banging his automail fist against its wrist. He saw the flash of Scar's transmutation, could smell the ozone flare. The concrete floor rumbled beneath his feet. "Whoa!" Edward stretched his arms, trying to keep his balance. The dolls turned toward this new threat, roaring toward Scar. Edward lost sight of the Ishvalan as another pair of the things turned on him. "Fuck, fuck!" He kicked, trying to gain a little bit of space, and heard a yell.

"Ed! The wall!" Heinkel shouted, pointing, and Edward whirled in place.

"Oh, shit!" Scar's transmutation cracked a hole in the wall, and the dolls were climbing through. Edward shoved one of the monsters out of the way, running toward the hole. He slapped his hands together and went sprawling when a doll knocked him off his feet. Yelling, Edward tried to kick himself free, scrambling across the floor. They charged, grabbing for his feet, tearing at his coat. He fought to get up, to get away, to stop the part of the swarm that had gotten through the hole in the wall. Something grabbed him and Edward jerked his elbow, ready to slam it in the face of the creature.

"Hang on, Ed!" Darius's voice stopped him in time. Edward screeched Darius pitched him across the room, over the heads of the monsters. He twisted hard to keep from slamming into the wall, falling down on top of a batch of monsters. Kicking and punching, Edward fought to scramble over them. One snagged his coat and Edward yanked free, ripping his coat and smashing back into the wall.

They stalked him, all teeth and long, grasping fingers, and Edward didn't waste his time swearing, but kicked hard, knocking one on its ass. The others kept coming. He slithered sideways, the stink of his own sweat thick in his nostrils. Sweaty hair clung to his face and Edward shook his head, trying to get it out of his eyes. Someone cursed, and he jerked his head up, trying to see over the mass of pale skin. He could see Donkey Kong, slamming two of the creatures together, and Zampano was still fighting. Edward couldn't waste time wondering about the others, instead, he slammed his hands together, activating the transmutation circle. He slapped his hands against the wall, sending spears of building material stabbing through the creatures, knocking them aside, destroying them.

They whined and cried and kept fucking coming. Dolls clambered over each other to get to their prey, over the spears, over the rubble, they snarled and gibbered the closer they got. Edward screamed wordlessly, his hands clenching into fists. He swept his blade through the skinny, grasping fingers. Another shout went up, and he wondered who'd fallen now. One of the monsters lunged at him and Edward braced himself for the attack. Another one came in out of the left, and they crashed into the wall.

Something cracked, and it wasn't just one of Edward's ribs. He yelped as the wall collapsed, and he and the monsters went down in a heap. One of them bit his automail knee and Edward slammed his metal fist against its skull, forcing it to loosen its grip. The other one tried to bite him. He smashed his elbow into its mouth, the metal knocking out its teeth and shoving them down its throat. More of them crawled through the hole, moaning and creeping his way. "Shit!" Edward wanted to scream again, but there was only one choice to make. He activated another a transmutation circle, kicking one of the monsters out of the way to slam his hands on the floor. The barricade rose instantly, stretching along the wall and shoring it up. The creatures caught in the barricade squealed and screeched, reaching spindly hands out to get him.

Edward swiped his sleeve over his face. Panting, he stared at the wall, then closed his eyes. "Sorry, guys," he murmured, then took off running.

He had a swarm to stop.

X X X


End file.
